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Don't sell your kidney

A market has developed in India for the sale of kidneys from living donors – despite a law against it.

05 11 2002

The next time you’re having a moan about life, spare a thought for people in India.

Take those with kidney failure. Dialysis is only for the wealthy and there’s no organised system of organ donation. So a market has developed in kidneys for sale from living donors – despite a law against it.

The argument is that this is life saving and provides valuable income for poor people.

Well, that’s now been tested by interviewing 300 men and women in Tamil Nadu about six years after they’d sold one of their kidneys.

What did they earn, did it make them better off financially and what would they advise others thinking of flogging off one of theirs?

They mostly sold their kidneys to pay off debts – altruism was not on the agenda. The price averaged US$1000 and not much was left over after clearing what they owed. And disturbingly, these donors went backwards financially after their kidney removal, possibly because of ill health.

No prizes then for their advice to others: it was “don’t do it”.

It’s a warning for those who argue that commerce would be an incentive to improve organ donation rates in developed countries. “Don’t do it.”